Iowa to Washington State?

"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
news:atxic.20424$432.1680@fed1read01...
If Denver was the target, where did he start? I live in Denver
(well, the 'burbs') and even going west, never need to go that
high for VFR.



Blanche...

They departed from/returned to KCHD: Chandler Municipal Airport in the SE
part of the Phoenix, AZ valley.


Using 13,500 you could damn near go direct (I'd do it coming in from the
south at Walsenburg) , but probably northeast to Santa Fe, over to Las
Vegas, NM then north to Denver. Piece of cake. At 13,500 they'd have to be
on oxygen for a while.

"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
news

"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
news:atxic.20424$432.1680@fed1read01...
If Denver was the target, where did he start? I live in Denver
(well, the 'burbs') and even going west, never need to go that
high for VFR.



Blanche...

They departed from/returned to KCHD: Chandler Municipal Airport in the
SE
part of the Phoenix, AZ valley.


Using 13,500 you could damn near go direct (I'd do it coming in from the
south at Walsenburg) , but probably northeast to Santa Fe, over to Las
Vegas, NM then north to Denver. Piece of cake. At 13,500 they'd have to be
on oxygen for a while.



Tom,

Funny you should mention "direct." My CFI mentioned that they were handed
lots of "Direct To's..." and he was kind of "dissapointed" that ATC didn't
make him have to work too hard at all.

As far as O2 goes, I, personally, think he pushed himself a little too hard
on the altitudes. He menitoned that when he got home, he "crashed" for 12+
hours. I made the comment that he got a pretty damn good flight physiology
lesson and that supplimental O2 would have probably been a good idea even if
they were up there for only a couple of minutes. He didn't disagree.

Jay

Jay Beckman wrote:
They departed from/returned to KCHD: Chandler Municipal Airport in the SE
part of the Phoenix, AZ valley.

If they went direct, I can see the 13.5K altitude. But Phoenix to
ABQ then north never needs to go over 10.5K. (ABQ-LVS-PUB-north)

MEAs are based on nav aid reception and terrain clearance, not radar coverage.
From the FAA Instrument Flying Handbook: "MEA: The lowest published altitude
between radio fixes which ensures acceptable navigational signal coverage and
meets obstacle clearance requirements between those fixes."

Remember, too, that in "mountainous" areas the minimum obstacle clearance is
2,000 feet, not the 1,000 feet used in the flatlands.

Dave Reinhart


David Brooks wrote:

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...

When I fly Seattle to Fort Collins, CO, the highest IFR MEA along that
route
is 13000', but only for a very short segment, and it's a result of the
airway going right over a lone bump. VFR you could easily cross the bump
lower, or just go around if you prefer.

I thought it was due to radar coverage? However, I could believe it's Mount
Stuart. BTW, from memory the MEA is 12K, so you'd see 13K eastbound. In any
case, yes, that's much higher than necessary for VFR.

The route from Seattle to Ellensburg has an 8K MEA.

I think it could done following I-90 the whole way too, but not having
flown
that route (not farther east than Missoula anyway), I can't say without
looking at a chart I don't have in front of me.

If you follow I-90, watch for the sharp turn at Snoqualmie Pass (the main
pass over the Cascades). At least one plane has missed the turn and come to
grief in a nearby canyon.

None of this helps you across the Rockies :-)

-- David Brooks

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:ENfic.12459$w96.1176412@attbi_s54...
According to Destination Direct, we are just 10.5 hours away from my sister
in Sequim, WA.

D.D. routes us northwest to Billings, Montana, and then west from there.
The terrain looks very high, indeed.

Can Atlas make the jump? Is it possible for a normally aspirated plane
(and pilots!) to fly over the Rockies? How high must one go?

Thanks in advance...

Jay,

I am surprised at the fear that you flatlanders have for the Rockies.
I live in Billings, and fly across them several times a year in my
180hp C172. Its a piece of cake unless you wind up IFR, though even
then its not really much more death defying than much IFR elsewhere.

Here's the story on the easiest flying to Sequim west from Billings:

Take either V247 or V2 to Helena(HLN), thence V2 to Missoula(MSO).
Thence either V2 to Spokane or V187 to Lewiston,ID (LWS). You're over
the Rockies!! It's a flat run from either of those for about 120
nm until you approach the Wenatchee Range about 70nm east of Seattle.
Frankly, crossing these mts creates more of a pucker factor in me than
the others. They are a bare, jagged range of rock. Then you're into
the Class B Seattle area unless you skirt in to the north. There are
beaucoup SUAs in this area-perhaps the most treacherous part of your
journey.

I don't know what your preferred level of adrenaline is, but there are
a few other options across the Rockies. Someone mentioned going
further north through Great Falls, but I sense that you may not like
that since there is a goodly stretch west of Great Falls across the
Bob Marshall Wilderness Area that might be a little, shall we say,
"too wilderness" for you. It is very pretty, though, and there is a
geographical treat known as the "Chinese Wall" that is very impressive
(that's the adjective I'd use, though yours may be different), and
flying west from Flathead Lake is, well,...breathtaking.

If you would like more info, email me. Also Newps is an ATC guy in
Billings, and can probably give you some insight also.

Jay,
I have recently made two trips, both with overnights at IOW (last one
stayed at your place, ferrying a new Lancair 350). First trip was in my
Arrow (non turbo). No problems, all VFR. Go from IOW direct to Boise (a
little detouring to Bear Lake, then thru a valley to Pocatella, ID.),
then follow the low route to whereever in WA you are goint. I went to
SEA once and Redmond Ore. the last time. No Oxy, about 9 to 11,000.
Bill, KUCP

Jay Honeck wrote:
You've read "Flight of Passage" and have to ask that question?


Okay, let me re-phrase this question:

Can I safely take my family in a 235 hp, normally aspirated aircraft from
Iowa to Washington State?

If so, what route do you recommend? Will it require oxygen?

I have recently made two trips, both with overnights at IOW (last one
stayed at your place, ferrying a new Lancair 350).

You stayed overnight here, ferrying a Lancair 350 -- and I didn't get to see
your plane?

Was I out of town? I'd have traded you a night's stay for a ride in a
Lancair!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

How about an elderly (excuse me, classic) 182?

{;-)

Jim



-Was I out of town? I'd have traded you a night's stay for a ride in a
-Lancair!


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

-Was I out of town? I'd have traded you a night's stay for a ride in a
-Lancair!

How about an elderly (excuse me, classic) 182?

Fill it with Sprecher Amber, and we just might have a deal...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In article , David Brooks wrote:

If you follow I-90, watch for the sharp turn at Snoqualmie Pass (the main
pass over the Cascades). At least one plane has missed the turn and come to
grief in a nearby canyon.

There's a notch in the hill, a few hundred feet higher than the valley
floor. If conditions are not high enough to fly over the notch, you
shouldn't be flying in the mountains.

The other gotcha is coming west, when you start out VMC, fly around the
bend at Snoqualmie, and wind up in IMC on the other side. There can be
a discontinuity in the airmass right about there. Air following the
rising terrain condenses out the moisture, then as terrain starts to
descend again, the moisture turns back into vapor.


Morris